CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A recent study found that the average person would have to earn more than $61,000 to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Charlotte, while those looking to rent a two-bedroom unit would have to make just over $70,000.
SmartAsset released its eighth study on the income needed to pay rent in the largest U.S. cities, and unsurprisingly, Charlotte was on the list, coming in at No. 16 for the income needed to rent a two-bedroom apartment. Researchers found a person would need to earn $61,479 to afford a one-bedroom apartment or $70,582 to afford a two-bedroom apartment based on the average fair market price in Charlotte.
The average price for a one-bedroom apartment in Charlotte is $1,435, according to the study. A fair market-priced two-bedroom unit comes in at $1,647 monthly rent.
Charlotte rent prices have been on the rise for some time, with folks reporting major increases at properties across the Queen City. One woman said her rent typically would go up anywhere from $30-$70 a month, but her building was looking to raise her rent by nearly $600. According to Redfin, the average rent in the U.S. increased by 14.1% in 2021, and those cost-of-living spikes are hitting Charlotteans hard.
"The amount that they were offering was just absurd," Ashley Voyer told WCNC Charlotte. "I chose not to re-sign, not really knowing where I was going to go."
The study based those figures on a 28% rent-to-income ratio, just below the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) threshold of 30%. HUD considers households that spend more than 30% of their pre-tax income on housing to be cost-burdened.
San Franciso was the most expensive city in the U.S., with the average renter needing to make an eye-popping $170,961 to afford a two-bedroom apartment. California, on average, requires a significantly higher income compared to other states. In San Diego, the least expensive California city in the study, renters need to earn just under $100,000 to afford a one-bedroom unit.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
In New York City, the income needed to rent a two-bedroom apartment is 2.4 times higher than the median household income. Renters in the Big Apple are paying an average of $3,811 for a two-bedroom apartment, SmartAsset found.
WCNC Charlotte is part of seven major media companies and other local institutions producing I Can’t Afford to Live Here, a collaborative reporting project focused on solutions to the affordable housing crisis in Charlotte. It is a project of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, which is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems. See all of our reporting at charlottejournalism.org.